I’ve always found the world of mobile gaming to be a funny one, though I’ve rarely managed to find a game that I’d actually like to play for any real duration on a portable platform. I think Rockstar has managed to port their GTA series to the PSP pretty effectively, and I used to play the Advance Wars series at every opportunity, but for the most part I struggle to be excited enough about the majority of mobile games to bother with the trouble of keeping a portable games console fully charged and about my person when I embark upon my travels. However, with the new generation of smartphones bringing graphical power, touch screen technology, motion sensing and decent storage to the arena, it seems that we are entering an exciting new era of mobile gaming in which the games we want to play are becoming available on more popular multi-purpose devices.

Anyone currently in possession of an iPhone or an iPod touch has probably put some thought into getting a couple of games loaded up on to it at some point or another, and I’d say that, given the respectable 3D graphics capabilities and a more than decent amount of visual real estate offered on both models, it is probably worth doing. I have a lot of love for Nintendo and the direction they are moving in, but I just can’t find any titles that I want to play on the DS at the moment, and it suffers from a couple of the same problems as the PSP in my mind–games that sometimes cost almost as much as their domestic equivalent, and the need to carry multiple cartridges/UMD discs wherever you go. I admit that this is an acceptable state of affairs for hardcore gamers who want a fully fledged FIFA experience as they ride to work, but I just want something practical, affordable and fun.

French company Gameloft has been going for just under 10 years now, and has developed on a fair few systems in that time; PC, Nintendo DS, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii and, more recently, the iPod Touch/iPhone OS. Given the current craze for the iPhone, the affordability of the games offered on it and the fact that I simply can’t be bothered to carry a dedicated portable games console around with me any more, I’ve decided to have a crack at falling back in love with mobile gaming again on Apple’s platform. Gameloft has kindly supplied me with the necessary titles to have a play with so let’s have a look and see if they provide bang for buck, or whether I’d be better off reading a book…

From the outset I can say one thing about all of Gameloft’s products–they all look amazing. There is a really polished feel about all of their games, and I heartily commend their graphic design and 3D people for doing such a great job. The bigger 3D action games are all introduced with superb pre-rendered CGI videos, giving a real sense of high-level gaming to the experience. Also, the music seems to really fit the mood in each games, so thumbs up there as well. How about gameplay though?

Given the often stop-start nature of mobile gaming, I tend to prefer less action-orientated games, as it can be all too easy to miss stops when you are so fully engaged, or it can really screw your game up when you have to change connections frequently. So, this in mind I was interested to see how Gameloft’s turn-based games fared. Overall, pretty well it seems; Sudoku works like an absolute dream for the most part, though I did have to switch to keypad entry for one particular square that refused to recognise my ‘5’. UNO manages to recreate the popular card game beautifully, and is a must for fans. Backgammon was probably my biggest disappointment as I love the original game, and have wanted a practical way to play on the move for years, but the Gameloft’s usual finesse seems to have been left out a little on this particular title. The graphics are not quite on par with the other games they offer and the AI is ridiculously easy. Solitaire more than makes up for it though, as it is exceedingly responsive, polished and offers enough different game styles to ensure plenty of longevity.

Gameloft has a few games that tip their hat to the arcade games of old, such as Bubble Bash. I had issues with this Bubble Bobble style game as the use of the touch screen for aiming meant that the bubbles seemed to launch themselves off in random direction all too frequently. Another arcade classic that Gameloft has brought to the small screen is Block Breaker 2, their answer to Breakout. This is a well made game, and a lot of fun to play, but I do feel as though they have gone a little over the top on the power-ups; After knocking out the first dozen blocks you can pretty much put the game down and let the power-ups play the rest of the level for you. This tails off pretty fast during the later levels, but it’s still a little too much for the first half of the game. Fans of Breakout will either love it or hate it, but someone not familiar with this arcade legend should have a pretty great good time with it nonetheless. Midnight Bowling fared exceedingly well, and provided a truly enjoyable gaming experience that I would recommend to anyone – the combination of touch screen and motion sensing works perfectly, and I found myself doing a far better job than I ever do in a real bowling alley. Again, the polish on the game is excellent, and the overall experience is a very positive one. Diamond Twister has you rotating groups of gems in order to release diamonds and score points, and although I am not a huge fan of such games I can’t deny that it performs to a high standard for what it is.

{ad}Now, onto the action games. This is where I felt that the iPhone’s versatility may fall down a little as I couldn’t imagine going into digital combat without some real analogue buttons to press. I have to admit that I was proved very wrong when it came to the third-person isometric/platforming adventure that is Hero of Sparta – the virtual analogue stick works like a dream, as do the on-screen buttons, and the combat had me fully engaged. Overall, great stuff, and would thoroughly recommend to fans of the genre. My Spartan buzz kind of died a little when I went to fight the Axis forces in Brothers in Arms though; everything that I had predicted about the iPhone’s control shortcoming came true in this attractive but unresponsive FPS. Although the graphics make great use of the iPhone’s 3D capabilities, the controls are just unpleasant to use. Rather than the now standard dual analogue approach to FPS controls, they have opted for all too much touch-screen finger gesturing that just doesn’t really respond as you’d like. If they had just taken the virtual analogue of Hero of Sparta and added a couple of onscreen buttons it would surely be a pretty decent game, but as it is it just doesn’t allow for smooth gameplay. The same can be said for Asphalt 4, Gameloft’s beautifully presented but ultimately flawed racing game. I don’t believe that Gameloft has necessarily done anything majorly wrong here other than portray the game in portrait rather than landscape mode, but racing is just one of those things where you really need thumbs on real buttons to really feel in control of the vehicle.

So, mixed results across the board; some of Gameloft’s titles are pretty much perfect, and they certainly look absolutely stunning for the most part, while others fall down badly due to AI and control issues. On the strength of what I’ve seen, I can definitely recommend Gameloft as a respectable producer of mobile games, but be sure to check the reviews and try demos where possible before parting with your money.